Yes, Virginia, it still is 'Orlando' . . .
Francesca Faridany, left, and David Greenspan take tea in a scene from Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of the Virginia Woolf classic, "Orlando," performing off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company in New York. Credit: AP
There is more Virginia Woolf than Sarah Ruhl in "Orlando," the playwright's adaptation of Woolf's gender-smart novel about a noble 18th century lad who turns into a woman and lives to wise up for another two centuries. For fans of the whimsical playwright ("The Vibrator Play," "Dead Man's Cell Phone"), this imbalance may be a weakness in the cool and oddly beautiful production at Classic Stage Company.
For those of us who prefer Woolf and/or the 1992 film starring Tilda Swinton, however, the faithfulness of the vision has a strength that stresses storytelling and stark spectacle over spasms of cutesy eroticism. As part of CSC's exploration of novel-to-stage adaptations, Ruhl and director Rebecca Taichman use story-theater narration instead of dialogue.
The results have the self-conscious feel of an exercise. As the evening continues, however, the stylized movement and surreal imagery begin to mesh with the action and evoke the sort of theater-dance throwbacks that used to be called choreo-poems. The costumes and sets, including a mirror hovering over a big square of grass, are both comic and elegant. Best of all is Francesca Faridany, a daring and endearing actress who embodies Orlando in all his and her mysterious glory.
WHAT "Orlando"
WHERE Classic Stage Company, 136 E. 13th St.
INFO $60-$65; 866-811- 4111; classicstage.org
BOTTOM LINE Oddly beautiful exercise, less Sarah Ruhl than Virginia Woolf
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